Curse of Cassandra
by mylittleartscapes
Summary: Sequel to "The Love of a Monster". Elsa begins to have strange, distressing nightmares. Her parents see them as just that: nightmares. But she sees them as something more. Contains dark themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note:**

Hello, again! As you can see, I have a new story for you, this one taking off where "The Love of a Monster" ended. And, because of that, I once again have to warn you about potential emotional provocation. This one does get a little depressing, as you will probably realize by the end of this chapter. Just a little warning.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and thank you for reading.

* * *

Spring transitioned into summer in Arendelle. Princess Elsa turned eighteen during that time. It was a quiet ceremony, as they always had been in the past, although there was something different – and _better _ – about this particular milestone: this time, she could see Anna. Merely being able to see her sister gave her hope that maybe _this_ year of her life would not be spent in total misery, and that was the greatest gift she received.

The sisters saw more of each other since Elsa opened up after that night in the spring. Granted, it was not as much as anyone really wanted, but it was something. Elsa was still, for the most part, secluded in her room. But now, Anna seemed to understand that she needed her privacy and did not bother her at her door anymore. They saw each other at the meals Elsa felt comfortable going to. Anna was much more subdued during these encounters, mainly out of fear that if she acted too much like her crazy self, it would scare her timid older sister off.

Elsa no longer felt the need to run and hide whenever she heard her sibling coming in the halls. Whenever they did meet, they would briefly talk to each other, neither one bothered by the quickness of their visits – just grateful for being able to be in the other's company after ten years of separation.

The King and Queen would often witness these encounters, or hear about them from the butler, Kai, or the maid, Gerda. While they were happy that their daughters were talking again, they were both worried and saddened as well. Worried, because despite her best efforts, Elsa was still having difficulty with containing her powers, which seemed to be growing ever stronger each day. And saddened, because even though they were speaking again, Elsa and Anna seemed like strangers to each other. After so many years spent apart, they could not relate anymore, thus their conversations usually only consisted of topics about the weather, lessons or outfit choices.

They were worried about their eldest for other reasons, as well. Though she never fell as far as she did that one night, there were times when she would lock herself in her room for hours with no good explanation why, and it was _those_ times that had her parents terrified. She seemed to be getting better, but that made any mishap that much worse. They trusted her word that it would not happen again, but they were painfully aware of the emotional damage she had suffered, and that she might end up powerless again if the pain ever gets bad enough.

When fall descended upon the kingdom, the King and Queen of Arendelle received an invitation from another kingdom across the sea. Normally, they would politely decline the request as they had done for years, now. But this particular invitation was special: it was from Corona, the land to the south where Adgar's sister had been married to the King. It was also where the princess of the kingdom had been stolen as a baby, and lost for eighteen years. Adgar and Idun had actually just heard word recently that their niece had returned after a rather interesting adventure. Now, that same princess was getting married to the man who rescued her. Adgar knew he could not miss this…he owed it to _his_ sister.

They approached Elsa about it first. She was hesitant about both of them leaving for a few weeks, as she had never been _that_ alone before. They suggested that she go with them, as it would be a good opportunity to meet people she would eventually have to deal with as Queen. She immediately shot the idea down, citing her own reasons regarding the bad idea of traveling in a small, confined space with fifty other people in potentially frightening circumstances.

Anna was also surprisingly hard to convince. She, too, was worried about both of them leaving. When asked if she wanted to go with them, she replied, "Is Elsa going?"

Her parents looked at each other. "No, Sweetheart," Idun explained gently, "Elsa has chosen to stay here to continue her studies."

"Then I'm staying, too," Anna stated firmly.

"You can come if you want, Anna…" Adgar began slowly.

"No! I…I mean, no, thank you," Anna answered quickly, while shuffling nervously back and forth, "But… I don't want Elsa to be alone. I'll keep her company."

Adgar smiled warmly. "Alright, we understand," he told her softly.

As the days drew closer to their departure, they noticed that Elsa was becoming more and more distant yet again. What they did not realize was that their eldest daughter was beginning to experience darker and more traumatizing nightmares as the nights passed. But unlike her usual terror-filled dreams, which were always related to her most scarring childhood memory, these visions were more distorted and vague…and as a result, they were putting her more on edge, thus her powers were more sporadic.

Then the vagueness was dropped completely.

* * *

Elsa could not see where she was, at first. All she knew was that it was dark and cold… Wait, she could _feel_ the cold? She never could before…

Suddenly, lightning shattered the darkness and thunder immediately followed. She was made painfully aware of where she was: she was on a ship. The wind howled, the rain was driving, and the surf was brutally cold. The waves tossed the ship back and forth as if it were merely a toy for the gods. The crew of the ship scrambled to tie up the sails and secure the loose cargo, all the while dodging the waves that climbed over the side to snatch away unsuspecting victims.

"Your majesties! Please, return to the cabins!"

That voice made her spin around to see her mother and father out on the deck, helping in whatever way they could.

"Sorry, Captain," her father responded, "But we're not hiding when people need our help! They sea knows no difference between royalty and commoner, so if we want a chance of survival, our positions do not matter!"

Elsa felt pride for her brave father and mother rise in her chest, until she realized that those words applied to _her_, too. She noticed a man about to be swept overboard, just feet away from her, so she tore off her gloves and aimed her hands at the wave. She called for a massive gust of wind to come and push the wave back…but nothing happened. "What?" she exclaimed, seconds before the wave came and claimed the man, "No!"

She looked down at her hands and tried in vain to conjure _anything_, but for the first time, the ice did not come. Perhaps during the only moment she _wanted_ her powers since she was little, they had abandoned her. This would explain why she felt cold…

"Incoming! Everyone brace yourselves!"

She pulled her eyes off of her trembling hands to look up at a literal wall of water. The massive swell extended twenty feet over the tip of the tallest mast, and fifty on either side. Lightning illuminated it for a brief second, turning it a sickly, otherworldly green-blue before it was once again black as night.

"Adgar!" Idun cried, as she raced into her husband's arms.

"It's ok," he said as he stared up into the abyss, "I've got you."

"I…I love you," she stammered.

Elsa shook her head violently. "No," she muttered, her voice growing louder until it was a scream, "No, no! Mama! Papa!"

She furiously searched her body, trying desperately to summon any sort of magic that might be able to save them. But her powers refused to listen, and remained unresponsive as tons of freezing water crashed down upon the ship.

Wood splintered. Ropes snapped. The ship was torn to pieces. The force of the water crushed everything and everyone it touched. If that was not enough to kill, the bitter cold finished the job.


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa awoke gasping for breath. She sat up quickly in her bed, only to nearly fall out of it in fright as a large crack of thunder shook the windows. Her face was covered in cold sweat that was slowly beginning to freeze on her skin. She ran a shaky hand through her messy hair, trying to calm down from the most vivid nightmare she ever had. Even the ones about her freezing Anna were not as bad as this…this one felt _real_.

Lightning illuminated the sky once more, and thunder quickly followed. She shuddered. Her powers had grown strong enough that she was beginning to have different reactions to natural weather phenomena. Storms like this one always made her incredibly uneasy, as if her own personal storm was just dying to get out and join in with nature's fury.

That only added further questions as to why she could not use her powers in the dream. That had _never_ happened before: even in her worst nightmares, her magic was _there_, not listening to her at all, but still present. This was almost like she did not have it in the first place. But _why_? What was so important that her mind closed off her ability to create ice and snow just for this one dream? Was there something in the nightmare that she had to see?

Or was it so that she did not intervene?

Her dream-parents never regarded her during the vision, nor did any of the crewmembers. She still experienced everything, but maybe she felt the waves as a spirit instead of being physically there. Or what if the _dream_ was a premonition?

She practically flew out of her bed. She quickly grabbed her robe and donned it as she raced down the hallways toward her parent's room. She froze as she reached the door, and contemplated if it would be better if this waited until morning. But then another flash of lightning briefly brought her back to the deck of the ship, and before she even realized it, she was knocking on their door.

The Queen opened it, her eyes still unfocused due to sleep. "Elsa?" she whispered, "What is it, Snowflake?" She was still too weary to understand the seriousness of seeing her eldest daughter outside of her room in the middle of the night, but she was slowly realizing it the more she studied the worried teenager.

"Mama… I…I don't think you should go on that trip," Elsa stammered, unsure of how she would explain herself.

Idun's brow creased. "Is everything alright, Elsa?"

Elsa crossed her arms over her stomach as she always did when she was particularly afraid. She made a small whimpering sound as she shook her head back and forth. "M…maybe it can wait…" she muttered.

"No," Idun said firmly, "Come inside, Elsa. Please. Let's talk about this."

Elsa only curled into herself more, but she obeyed like a good girl should. Adgar had stirred awake by then, and was slowly pushing himself out of the warm bed as Idun went over to the roaring fireplace and gestured for Elsa to sit in one of the chairs. "What's going on?" he asked as he staggered over to them. His eyes then landed on his daughter, and he suddenly clued in. He did not say another word, and merely took a seat beside his wife.

"Now," she began, "What has gotten you all worked up, Elsa?"

Elsa's frightened eyes darted between them. "I…I had a n…nightmare," she said shakily, "B…but it wasn't like th…the others."

"What do you mean?" Adgar questioned gently.

"It…it was about _you_," Elsa explained, her eyes staring off into space as if she was witnessing it again, "You were on your ship…in a storm. A…and then there was a giant wave…I couldn't do anything to stop it…and…" She suddenly refocused on them. "You _can't_ go on that trip."

"Elsa, I know you're nervous about us leaving, but–"

"No, you don't understand! I've _never_ had a dream like that before, because it _wasn't_ a dream! It…it was a _vision_. I'm sure of it, Papa!"

The King and Queen were silent for a moment. "Is…is this another extension of your powers?" Idun asked quietly.

"I…I don't _know_," Elsa replied desperately, "At this point I'll blame any supernatural thing on my powers, but I am sure that whatever I saw will happen if you go."

"It could have just been a nasty nightmare," Adgar reminded her.

"None of my nightmares have been like this, Papa. _Please_, you have to believe me! You will die if you go."

Thunder rumbled in the distance. "Are you sure?" Adgar pressed, "Are you sure this was a vision, and not some nightmare brought on by this storm?"

Elsa's breathing became short and panicked. "I…I don't know," she stuttered, pressing her hands tightly against her temples, "I don't _know_."

"Elsa, my dear," Idun crooned, "It's alright. Just relax, Baby. You've obviously had a good scare."

"Conceal, don't feel," Elsa muttered to herself repeatedly. It was not working, so she only muttered faster and angrier as she tightened her grip on her head. Suddenly, another flash of lightning outside the window tore her vision away from the room. Instead of being placed on the deck of that ill-fated ship, she found herself submerged under hundreds of feet of water, in the depths of the ocean. Staring back at her, the only thing illuminated in the darkness, were the sunken, waterlogged and partially frozen faces of her dead parents. The corpse of her father suddenly reached out, grabbed her shoulders, and started to shake her violently.

"Elsa? Elsa! Snap out of it!"

Her parent's room appeared in front of Elsa as quickly as it had disappeared. She was staring into the eyes of her worried father, who held both her shoulders in his hands and was gently shaking her to wake her up from whatever trance she had fallen into.

Then she noticed the ice. The fire had somehow gone out – probably from the strong gusts of wind swirling snow around the room. Ice spread out from where she was sitting, moving in jagged, dangerous spikes up the walls and along the floor toward her parents. Frost had nearly consumed the whole room, and the temperature had obviously dropped based off of how much her mother and father were shivering – and all of that occurred _despite_ the fact that she was wearing gloves.

She pulled away from his grasp and leapt out of the chair with surprising grace, as if the slick ice under her feet had no effect on her. She shrunk backward until she walked into the wall. "N…no," she stammered, "S…stay away…"

"Elsa," Idun whispered painfully, who had clasped her hands over her mouth and had tears spilling from her eyes. _'What's happening to my baby?'_ she thought sorrowfully.

Adgar took a step forward. Elsa wrapped her arms around herself and let out a small, desperate whimper. "_Please_, Elsa," he said as softly as he could, "It's ok." He tried as hard as he could not to show the pain of seeing his own daughter slowly developing the appearance of a frightened animal trapped in a corner.

He took another step, and she pressed herself tightly against the wall. She shook her head back and forth before snapping her eyes shut. "Don't feel…don't _feel_…_don't feel_," she whispered.

Adgar suddenly watched her cringe, but not in the way she normally would. She doubled over on herself, and let out a restrained gasp as ice and frost ripped out of her body and slashed across the wall behind her. That made him stop. He had witnessed her lose control before, but he had _never_ seen her in _pain_.

He cast a concerned glance to Idun, and just by seeing her terrified expression he knew she had witnessed the same thing. They carefully went over to their daughter, who had seemingly been drained off all of her energy. Her breathing was laboured and irregular, and her entire body trembled terribly. She slowly looked up at them with weary, tearful eyes. "I…I should go back to my room," she said weakly.

"Elsa," Adgar asked quietly. This was a question he did not want to ask. "Are they hurting you?"

Elsa, who was beginning to make her shaky exit, stopped in her tracks upon hearing his question. _'Are they _hurting_ me?'_ she wanted to repeat bitterly, almost angrily, '_They are the reason for every bit of _agony_ in my life!'_ If it had not been for her powers, she would not have had to be isolated. If it had not been for her powers, she would not feel heart retching guilt with every breath she took. If it had not been for her powers, she would not have to cling to the memories of the time she _used_ to have a family as the only way to keep herself sane, although she was beginning to fear that that was not enough anymore.

And _now_ they ask that question? _Now_, after she finally showed them how holding in such a powerful force was taking its toll on her body, they had the _gall_ to ask? She was furious beyond comprehension, but before she could spin around and unleash her anger on them, she remembered her dream again, and the panic and fear she felt as she watched that wave come crashing down upon them. It would not be a wave, but a spear of ice could still be just as deadly.

The storm inside of her surged, howling in her ears and screaming at her to let it out. It sent her body into an involuntary shudder, but by some miracle, the magic did not escape the confines of her skin. She turned toward them. Without thinking, she threw her arms around them, and cried, "Oh Mama! Papa!"

Her tone answered everything for her parents, who were still reeling over the fact that she had initiated a hug. But, before they could wrap their arms around her, she came back to reality and quickly stepped away. "I…I'm going to g…go now…"

"Elsa, wait!" Idun called.

Elsa froze in the doorway. "I…I have to go…" she said distantly, "It's not…not safe…"

"Elsa," Adgar commanded gently, "Tell us more about this dream." Frankly, he did not want to know any detail about the nightmare that had his daughter so distraught, but he also did not want her going back to her prison alone – _especially_ in the unstable state that she was currently in.

"You don't want to hear it," Elsa mumbled, rubbing her arms slightly.

"Yes, Baby, we do," Idun replied, "We want to know what's gotten you so worked up."

Elsa took a deep, shaky breath. She slowly turned to face them, and whispered, "O…ok."

The Queen gestured for her to come back into the room, while the King went over to the hearth and re-lit the fire. Elsa perched on the edge of her seat, and waited until both parents were sitting in front of her. She took another deep breath, and started from the beginning.


	3. Chapter 3

Elsa tried to focus on her history lesson, but her mind was elsewhere. She was still thinking about the conversation she had had with her parents early that morning. They had talked until dawn: first, Elsa described her dream down to the last detail, then, together, they picked it apart piece by piece until she had calmed down enough to realize that it probably was just another nightmare. Her parents were fairly confident that it was all just a dream, and she trusted them more than her own mind at this point. She secretly was beginning to worry that she was losing her fragile grasp on sanity, and the incident last night certainly did not reassure her.

She shook her head to clear it and attempted to refocus on her tutor's boring, monotone voice droning on about some battle that occurred miles away and centuries ago. She normally was fond of history, but because her mind was so distracted today, she had no interest in it at all.

She sighed and looked over at the large map hanging on the wall of the library. It was an older map, maybe about a hundred years or so, but it still accurately showed Arendelle and the surrounding kingdoms. The cartography itself was beautiful: it had been hand-drawn in ink and lightly coloured around the borders of each country to indicate where one began and where one ended. Along the margins were star charts and other astrological maps, accompanied by gods and creatures from both the Norse and Roman legends. Her favourite part had always been the compass rose, however: instead of resembling a star as most often do, this one took on a shape that better resembled a snowflake.

She found the southern kingdom of Corona on the lower right side of the map, and traced a path with her eyes from it to Arendelle. She gulped nervously as she realized how long that trip was: it was at least four days if the weather was good, five on average, and if the weather was poor…well, that was when the praying started. The worst was the section of the voyage that trekked through mostly Open Ocean. She had read many legends about that part of the sea, and how it was never merciful to ships. Her memory recalled that giant wave against her will as she stared at that horrible blank section of the map.

Someone loudly clearing their throat caught her attention, and she quickly pulled her eyes off the map to look up at her tutor. "Is everything alright, your Highness?" he asked, not once breaking his blasted monotone.

Just then, a snowflake fell softly from the ceiling and landed on her nose. Elsa looked around the room to see that a light flurry had appeared out of nowhere. "Oh! I…I'm sorry," she replied quickly, "Um, y…yes, everything's fine. I…I just…"

"It's alright, your Highness. The burning of the Library of Alexandria is something I, too, often get worked up about."

She wanted to respond by asking how a man who was incapable of showing any emotion in his voice could get worked up over anything, but she thought better of it. Princesses were not supposed to be smart-mouthed.

"Now then, let's get back to the lesson," he drawled.

She groaned inwardly and rolled her eyes. The snow tapered off, but she kept a small number of flakes coming down near her. She watched them dance around through the air, wondering what it must feel like to be free like them. She reached out and caught one in her hand. It did not melt – they never melted when they touched her – and she brought it closer to observe.

"Admiring your handiwork?"

That voice made her jump, mainly because she was not expecting it. She took a moment to collect herself before she looked up at her tutor. "I…yes," she answered shyly, "I apologize. I…I seem to be rather distracted today."

"Everyone has their off-days," he said.

'_Even his comforting voice is flat_,' she thought bitterly.

"I can see you would like to go, so I'll let you out early. But first, I'll return this." He pulled out a few sheets of parchment. "You mathematics assignment was very good, your Highness. _Extremely_ good, actually. If you weren't going to be Queen, I'd recommend looking into architecture."

Wait: was that _enunciation_ on something? "Th…thank you," she replied as she accepted the papers, "I…I wasn't…I mean…"

"There's no need to be modest." _And_ the monotone was back. "Everyone has their own set of gifts. You have the ability to create complicated geometric shapes with little to no thought involved…so when you actually _try_ mathematics, you could rival some of the great geniuses. Keep it up, your Highness."

"Y…yes, sir," she responded earnestly, "Thank you."

He smiled. "You are free for the day, Princess. I shall see you tomorrow."

She nodded before rising and briskly escaping from that awfully dull room.

* * *

That night Elsa had the nightmare again. Once again, she was forced to watch helplessly as that massive wave crashed down onto her parents' ship and swallow it and everyone onboard whole. She awoke with a start and pressed a cool hand to her sweaty forehead. "It's just a dream," she muttered to herself, "Just a dream."

She did not believe _that_ in the slightest, but at the same time, she could not believe it was a vision of the future, either. She never had that happen before. Even before something terrible like when she accidently struck Anna – there was no warning. So why was there one now? Her powers only involved ice and snow…there was no way she could add foresight to the list.

Then again, she really did not know _anything_ about her mysterious powers, aside from three facts: she was born with them; they were growing stronger each day, to an end she was not sure of; and that they rarely listened to her anymore. It was quite possible that she could possess a wider range of abilities, but seeing how she could barely manage to keep the ice at bay, she had no desire to start soul searching.

The reoccurrence of the dream scared her. She had read somewhere that if one dreams something more than once then it has to come true. That was from a silly fairy tale book, sure, but it troubled her nonetheless. She had other nightmares that replayed themselves over and over, night after night. Granted, they just retold something that had already happened, but that still made them truth.

She contemplated going to see her parents again, but decided that it could wait until morning. She felt guilty about keeping them up all night when they needed their rest; their trip was in a week, after all. She remembered their conversation about the subject, and told herself that she was probably just worried about being left alone – and in charge – for two long weeks.

With that, she slowly settled back down on her mattress, although sleep eluded her for the rest of the night.


	4. Chapter 4

"Elsa? Is everything alright, Dear?"

Her mother's voice snapped her out of her daze. "What? Oh, y…yes, Mama," she replied shakily, before continuing to move her untouched eggs around on her plate.

"You've barely eaten anything," her father observed.

"I'm not very hungry this morning." She caught her parents cast each other glances in the corner of her eye.

"I'll have her food," Anna eagerly offered, as she had already scarfed down much of her own breakfast.

"No," the King and Queen deadpanned together.

Elsa suddenly backed away from the table. "M…may I be excused, please?" she asked quickly, already pushing herself to her feet before hearing an answer.

The King merely nodded before they watched her make a swift exit. Idun sent him a look ordering him to go after her, and he complied without an argument. She and Anna sat in awkward silence for a moment, before the younger girl asked, "So…_now_ can I have her food?" Idun rolled her eyes.

Adgar found Elsa easily enough – the hallway was not _coated_ in frost, but there was still a distinguishable trail leading to her room. He knocked on the door.

No response.

"Elsa? It's me, Snowflake," he called, "You don't have to open the door, but–"

Suddenly the door opened and a blast of cold air struck him in the face. "I…I need to talk with you, Papa," Elsa whispered, standing before him with a death grip on the door handle.

Concern and fear washed over him. "What's wrong, Elsa?" he asked as she allowed him into her room. There was no ice or snow, but _Lord_ was it cold.

He took a seat on the edge of the bed while she remained standing and wringing her hands together. "It…it happened again," she told him quietly.

"What did?" His mind raced with numerous scenarios, as he was not sure exactly which "it" she was referring to.

"I…I had that nightmare again. Th…this is the tenth night in a row, now…"

"The nightmare about the storm?" he clarified, "Elsa, dear, we've been over this…"

"I _know_!" she cried, "B…but it keeps _happening_, Papa! Each one just as vivid and painful as the last! What if it isn't just a dream?"

Adgar took a deep breath. "Elsa, we leave in three days. I'm sure that once we are gone, these dreams will stop. You're just worried," he told her calmly, "Sometimes the mind likes to play tricks on us when we are stressed about something."

"You don't have to tell _me_ that," she muttered bitterly.

"I'm sorry these dreams continue to bother you, Elsa, but there isn't anything I can do but say that everything will be fine. I promise you that."

She sighed shakily and crossed her arms around herself. She nodded weakly in response.

He cocked his head slightly as he observed her nervous form. She looked more exhausted than usual – probably from the lack of sleep. "I have a question for you, my dear," he began softly, "And I want you to answer as honestly as you can. Alright?"

She nodded again. He continued, "What are you really afraid of, Elsa? Are you worried about our safety, or are you more concerned about being left in charge of Arendelle while we are gone?"

She remained silent for a long time. He merely waited patiently until she had an answer. "I _am_ worried about you," she said as smoothly as she could, "I know you've made the dangerous voyage before, but it is always a gamble when it comes to Mother Nature, and… I _can't_ lose you – _either_ of you.

"That being said… I am terrified of my responsibility while you are gone. I…I know it's what I have been training for since I could walk, and I'm sure that I probably know more than I give myself credit for, but… Papa, I can't even leave my _room_ some days. How am I supposed to govern a _Kingdom_ if I'm not brave enough to–"

"Stop," he commanded, raising a hand to further his order, "You _are_ brave enough, Elsa."

"But it takes a different kind of bravery! Sure, it's brave of me to hide in my room to protect people, but the people of Arendelle need a ruler who can stand up for them. How can I possibly do that?"

"Elsa, there is no such thing as 'different kinds' of bravery: there is only one," he told her, "Bravery is having the strength to act despite fear, and pain. And do not forget that a good leader also needs to have _love_, a virtue which you are full to the brim of, my dear."

Elsa shot him a sorrowful look. "I shut my own family out of my life, Papa," she said mournfully, "How can you say that there is love in my heart?"

"Because you did it to protect us. Love is putting someone else's needs before yours, Elsa. Do not look at me and say that you have not done that."

She was quiet for another long moment. In a low voice, she questioned, "Y…you're going to go regardless of what I say, aren't you?"

He sighed heavily. "You know I have not seen my sister in years, Elsa. She has been through a great deal, too. The time has come for me to see her again. You understand, don't you?"

She slowly nodded. "Yes, Papa," she replied sadly.

He rose from the bed and went to stand in front of her. He reached out and gently took her chin in his hand, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You've already made incredible progress," he told her warmly, "I have a feeling that this might just be the confidence booster you need."

"A…are you sure?"

"I know so, my dear."


	5. Chapter 5

The day had finally come. Elsa had been awake for hours due to that awful reoccurring nightmare, and had spent the rest of the early morning before dawn pacing around her room. As the first few pink rays began to break on the horizon, she could hear the few staff members of the castle beginning to prepare for the King and Queen's departure.

She looked out her window. The sky was free of any clouds and the waters on the fjord were still. But there was still something ominous about the red light that cast itself upon the mast and sails of the royal ship.

She heard who she assumed to be Anna come sliding past her door. There was a moment of silence Elsa knew was a pause on her sister's part, before the younger sibling continued on her way. Elsa would not have thought anything of it if the trip had not been entirely off of Anna's path to their parents' room.

She took a few deep breaths, made sure her gloves were securely on her hands, and slowly went out into the hall. She went down to the entry hall where she knew the King and Queen would depart from. She stood stalk-still as she tried to calm her nerves. She held herself with the expertly crafted façade of grace and poise she always had outside her room, but strained harder than usual to maintain it as her anxiety grew.

Elsa did not have to wait long for her parents to come into view. Her father descended the stairs first, and she properly curtsied as he and her mother paused before her. Her fear got the better of her for an instant, and she found herself uttering a desperate plea before she could stop it: "Do you have to go?"

Idun felt something squeeze her heart tighter as she looked into those pain-filled, terrified blue eyes. It took nearly all of her strength not to rush over to her daughter and scoop her up into a tight hug. But just looking at Elsa told her that that would be a terrible idea: Elsa may have accepted some touch back into her life, but she still had her days when a hug that was meant to be comforting would do the exact opposite. Today, the mere fact that the eldest princess had managed to drag herself out of her room was a massive statement.

Adgar, too, felt sorrow wash over him. He did not want to do this to her, but he was also certain that this was exactly what she needed. She needed experience as acting monarch, and the only way that would happen was if the King and Queen were not around to influence her decisions. So, he chose to offer his final words of encouragement: "You'll be fine, Elsa."

His words were warm and comforting to her, and helped a little to ease her nerves. But Elsa still felt the storm inside of her swirling around angrily, telling her that she was far from calm. She sighed and took a step back, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "Have a good – and _safe_ – trip," she muttered.

They nodded, forcing smiles onto their faces despite the sadness they felt in seeing her close them off again. "Goodbye, Snowflake," Adgar said softly, "We'll see you again in two weeks. I promise."

"Look after your sister while we're gone," Idun added as a maternal instinct, "Make sure she doesn't burn the castle down, either."

Elsa smiled slightly at the thought and nodded obediently. Mother and Father made eye contact with their daughter one final time, before they turned and hesitantly headed to the ship. Elsa continued watching them go until they were out of sight – after the great doors were firmly closed shut – before releasing the breath she did not know she had been holding.

* * *

'_Papa was right_,' Elsa thought as she awoke at dawn on the ninth day since her parent's departure. For the past eight nights, her only nightmares had been the old, guilt-ridden, Anna-based dreams instead of the one with the storm. She breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe everything _was_ just all in her stress-filled head.

Her daily routine had changed slightly. She was not expected to make any changes or attend any council meetings in her father's absence, but she still had to talk with them briefly and then overlook any document they drew up. Now, instead of spending the afternoons in the library with her tutor, she was in her father's study. Kai, though his job was technically a butler, was a great and well-appreciated help to her, as he had spent so many years working with the king that he could offer assistance to the princess when she needed it.

For the most part, her magic left her alone. The storm had tapered off into a flurry after her parents' ship had disappeared on the horizon, and after a few days, it now just felt like heavy overcast. It was as if it realized that she was stressed enough as it was, and in some God-willed act of mercy, had decided to give her rest.

Anna bothered her only once so far, after she had apparently "run out of things to do" and demanded that they do something together. Elsa merely sighed and used the stack of documents she needed to look over as an excuse for why she could not. She still could not bring herself to tell her sister about her darkest secret, at least, not yet. She had made a mental promise to herself to ask her parents upon their arrival home if she could, as she needed both of them by her side when she did. Anna did not take the rejection well based on her expression, but her reaction was subdued and, at most, dejected.

As Anna slunk away, Elsa sighed sadly. "I'm sorry, Anna," she muttered, thinking her younger sister was out of earshot.

Anna was not. The words caused her to stop. She had already rounded a corner, so Elsa could not see her. She was a little angry that her sister had decided to reject her request, but then she heard that apology. There was so much guilt and self-loathing in her sister's voice that it immediately changed her mind. It also raised many questions that Anna desperately wanted to ask, specifically about why Elsa had shut her out in the first place. She figured she could phrase it eloquently enough now that she was not blindly furious.

But she decided that it would be best to wait until her parents got back. She knew they were in on the secret, but they would not tell her anything. It had to be _Elsa_ who answered. She felt better about having them beside her when she confronted her sister, for moral support.


	6. Chapter 6

Heavy rain battered the windows, and thunder rumbled in the sky. Another nighttime storm had arrived in Arendelle, this one even more brutal than the last. No one in the kingdom could simply sleep through the howling wind or blinding flashes of lightning, least of all the eldest princess.

Elsa tossed and turned in her bed, trying her best to get some sleep despite the storm. She was semi-awake, but she could not stop herself from flinching with every ear-splitting crash of thunder.

There was a brief pause in the storm, when everything suddenly went eerily quiet, and then she was no longer in her bed. Lightning shattered her vision for a second, but she knew she was not in her room because she felt something hard, wet and _very_ cold underneath her feet.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized with dread sinking in her stomach that she was back on that doomed vessel – although this time felt the _most_ real yet. The driving rain was coming down so harshly that it stung her skin. Her braided hair was thrown messily about in the wild wind, and the waves that crashed over the deck were like liquid ice. She looked around and spotted her parents where she had always seen them, doing the exact same things they had been doing before. But this time, she could hear their conversation better:

"We should have listened!" Idun shouted angrily.

"You were just as unsure as I was!" Adgar shouted back, "Watch out!" He swiftly grabbed her away from the side of the deck just as a large swell crashed over the railing.

"This is exactly how she described it, Adgar," Idun said worriedly, "Wh…what if…"

"I don't know… I just hope God and the Sea are merciful."

Idun did not respond right away. Her attention was drawn to something ahead of the bow of the ship. "Oh God…" she breathed.

Adgar followed her gaze just as the Captain roared above the storm, "Incoming! Everyone brace yourselves!"

"No!" Elsa screamed as she, too, looked up at that behemoth of a wave. She called desperately to her powers in the weak hope that she might be able to alter _this_ dream's course, but they remained as dead as a doornail. "No! Mama! Papa!"

The King and Queen of Arendelle were holding each other tightly. "This is it," Idun stated, tears mixing with briny water on her face, "Oh my God, this is it…"

"I've got you," Adgar reassured her, "I won't let go, not _ever_."

"Elsa…" Idun whispered, yet her voice was still somehow heard over the storm, "Anna… We promised them that we'd come home."

"We still will!" Adgar told her, "We'll _always_ be there for them."

"I love you," Idun cried.

The wave began to consume the bow of the ship, the action pitching the deck upwards into an impossibly steep angle. People and cargo were sent flying as the ship rolled. The black swell curled into itself and the frigid surf began to rain down. The mast snapped, the deck buckled, the ship was torn apart, and the debris sent down into the depths.

Elsa momentarily blacked out with the force of the water, but awakened a short time later in a place that was dark and cold. The sounds of the storm were muffled, and the flashes from the lightning were dulled somehow. She could see the wreckage from the ship illuminated with each flash suspended in the water…and she could not breath. She tried, but only ended up with a mouthful of salt water. She tried to swim back to the surface, but she felt something reach up from the darkness, wrap around her ankles and drag her down further.

She let out a scream that was lost to the deep and her vision quickly faded to black.

Elsa's eyes ripped open and she gasped for breath. She sat up quickly in her bed, and slapped both hands over her mouth to hold in a terrified scream. She could still taste the wretched saltiness on her tongue. She brought her knees up to her chest and buried her face into them.

She refused to think about this dream. She had a sinking feeling in her gut about experiencing it, and she wished with all her might that her intuition was wrong. The storm was beginning to die outside, leaving only distant sounds of thunder and heavy rain. "Mama, Papa," she moaned as tears spilled from her eyes, "_Please_ come back."


	7. Chapter 7

The next few days dragged on for Elsa. She was entirely unfocused on everything she did, which often led to slip-ups with her powers. But she could not get that nightmare out of her head. Any time she tried to get some work done, her parents' last words began to echo in her mind. "It was just a dream," she told herself, "J…just a dream."

Why did they have to wonder if they should have listened?

The King and Queen were due back any day now. They had already passed the point of early arrival, but they still had a few days to go before she could let her worry eat her alive.

Unfortunately, she was not given that chance.

Kai walked with a heavy heart to the princess's door, where he knew she had been hiding for the past few evenings. He had just received the news from a sailor of another vessel who had come across the wreckage. According to him, nothing was salvageable – and there were no survivors.

Elsa heard him knock on her door. She hesitated before opening it, and immediately regretted the decision upon seeing his face. "Y…yes, Kai?" she asked. '_Please, no. Please, oh _please God_, no.'_

He cleared his throat to draw out the inevitable. "Y…your Majesty," he began with a slight bow and a choke in his voice.

'"_Your _Majesty_?" Oh God, no…no, no, no, no, NO!'_

"I regret to inform you that…on the return trip…_The Northern Belle_ was caught in a storm…"

'_No.'_

"The King…"

_'__No.'_

"…and Queen…"

'_No, no.'_

"…of Arendelle are…"

"NO!" she shouted, "They _can't_ be! _Please_, Kai!"

"I'm sorry, Elsa," he whispered, tears forming in his old eyes, "They're not coming back."

It was as if the weight of the world suddenly fell upon Elsa's shoulders, and in reality, that was not too far from the truth. With those words, what little bit of her world that had remained intact was suddenly shattered in front of her very eyes. And then life decided to punch her in the stomach, just for the hell of it. Clearly someone up there hated her, and wanted her to suffer in every way possible.

While she was reeling from the news, she was oblivious to the ice that was quickly seeping out of her. Her room was rapidly coated in jagged, black icicles and frost that was unnaturally white. The temperature dropped to almost unliveable in seconds, and the only way she clued in to any of it was noticing Kai suddenly start shivering violently.

"Your Majesty," he said softly, "I know it's hard but…"

"Don't call me that," she breathed.

"_Elsa_," he responded, "Please, dear…" It hurt to see her like this. He had been a servant at the castle long before she was born, so he had known her all her life. He, like her parents, had witnessed what was once such a happy and carefree little girl transform into a terrified young woman. Now, it was like watching her descend into madness.

She was barely registering anything he was saying anymore. They storm inside of her fed hungrily off of her endless grief and was surging at a rate she knew she would not be able to contain for long. "Leave," she commanded.

"Elsa…"

"Leave, _now_!" She backed into her room, attempting to get as far away from him as possible, "G…go tell Anna, and then keep _everyone_ away from here, do you understand?"

"Els–"

"Do you understand, Kai?" she screamed, sounding angrier than she wanted to as pain tore through her core.

"Yes, your–" He stopped himself before he could further the damage. "Elsa." He then closed the door and left swiftly, trying to ignore her agonized cries as the temperature in the halls began to drop.

Somehow, Elsa's magic had always just been confined to her room in the past. But she knew that this time, if she did not keep it in, ice would consume the whole castle in no time. "Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel," she muttered in a strained voice. The storm only raged stronger, the howling wind inside of her sounding like it was screaming at her in her ears. "Control it. _Conceal. Don't feel_."

Her entire body was in pain, and eventually it was becoming hard to even stay upright. But she had to keep pacing. She did not know why, but she just felt like everything would get worse if she stopped moving.

"Don't feel. _Don't feel_. D…don't…_feel_…D…d…don't…"

Then, it happened. Her great, supernatural power decided that it no longer wished to remain in its prison…even if it meant _destroying_ that prison in order to get out. Elsa felt the swirling grind to a halt, before the ice reversed directions and rushed into her heart in a furious torrent. And she had thought the first time her heart froze was painful.

It was agonizing. It felt like someone was burning her skin, while giving it frostbite at the same time. It felt like there were shards of glass mixed in with the blood coursing through her veins, tearing her apart from the inside. It felt like the coarsest of rope was tied around her heart and lungs, being pulled tighter and tighter until it felt like they would be severed in half. It felt like knives of all shapes and sizes – anything with a sharp point, really – were slowly yet forcefully sliding into her head at all angles.

She heard unholy, unnatural screaming in her ears, like thousands of demons were circling around inside of her head. She, herself, could not make a sound. Before she even had a chance to cry out her breath had been taken from her, and she had yet to gain it back.

She fell to her knees before colliding with the floor, but the impact felt comparable to landing in a soft bed due to the true pain her body was in. Her brain could barely keep her heart beating, let alone allow her to think properly. But she found herself looking up and out of her window, and _pleading_ for this to end in _any_ way possible.

Somewhere in the chaos, she could vaguely hear two voices in the distance. She strained to listen to the familiar sounds over the hell in her mind.

"_Please_! I _need_ to see her!"

"I'm sorry, Princess, but I am bound by your sister's words…"

"No, Kai! She needs me! And I need her! How can you expect us to be alone _now_, after th…that news!"

She was crying. Anna was crying. Elsa knew it just from hearing her voice.

But there was a more pressing issue at hand that Elsa knew had to be addressed: her powers had turned on her – v_iolently_, at that. And they were going to succeed in killing her soon if she did not do something. The trouble was, she had no idea _how_ to stop it.

She heard footsteps in the hall. "Princess, _please_. Your sister wishes to be alone."

"We'll see about that." _Knock, knock_. "Elsa? Please, talk to me! I…I need my big sister right now."

Elsa tried to push herself up from the floor, but pain ripped through her muscles. She tried to drag herself across the room, but that did not work either. "A…Anna," she breathed. Barely a sound came out of her throat – certainly not anything loud enough for the princess to hear. Suddenly, keeping the secret from her sister was the last thing on Elsa's mind. She _needed_ Anna. She _needed_ someone to help her… She did not want to die alone. "Anna," she moaned again.

"Anna, your sister needs her privacy right now," Kai's voice rang through the door.

The doorknob rattled, but ice had long since coated the door and froze it shut. "No, she _needs_ me, I know it!" Anna protested, "Elsa, _please_!"

Elsa slowly reached her hand out to attempt dragging herself across the floor again, and, to her horror, realized that ice had started to coat _her own_ body. It had wrapped around her gloved hand, the icicles dripping off of it like some sort of sickly residue. She felt it creeping from her hands and chest. The tendrils that spread from her heart were the worst: they did not sit on top of her skin – they _embedded_ themselves into it. Tears sprung from her eyes as she felt them tighten around her throat and begin to snake onto her cheeks.

"Come, your Highness. Give her some time. I'm sure she'll speak with you in a few days after things have settled down a bit."

"Ok."

"No…" Elsa murmured, straining her voice as hard as she could, but still unable to produce anything louder than a thin, shuddering, ghostly whisper, "Please…come back…" Her vision began to darken along the edges as the pain gave way to total numbness. "Kai…A…Anna…_ Help…me_… Anna…"

Her eyes closed, and the world went silent.


	8. Chapter 8

The distant sound of rain was the first sensation of the real world that she noticed. As Elsa stirred on the floor, she was immediately reminded that her body had been in excruciating pain. Her muscles screamed in protest as she began to push up from the floor, but she somehow managed to get herself into a sitting position.

She moaned as she gently rubbed her forehead. "What…happened?" she asked her empty room. She tried to remember the events prior to blacking out: pain…and ice…and grief…

Then it came to her: her parents – her Mother and Father whom she loved so, _so_ much – were dead. They had been lost at sea, _just_ like her nightmare. Her parents, her only source of comfort in this dark, cruel world, were gone.

And then she remembered her powers betraying her. Snapping into that realization, she frantically looked around the room to make sure they did not do anything terrible after she had collapsed. She forced herself to her feet and then stumbled over to the window. Nope, no snow – just rain. She breathed a sigh of relief, not caring that her breath made the glass frost over slightly. '_Well, it's good to know that after _that_ I _still_ can't lose these powers_,' she thought bitterly.

Suddenly, a gentle knocking arrived at her door. "Elsa, dear?" Gerda's voice called from the other side, "I…I know you must be going through so much, and I promise I won't bother you about it again, but…"

'_Wait…again?_' Elsa had not even heard the maid speak since Kai had told her the news.

"…But, the funeral is today, dear. I understand if you do not wish to go, what with your condition, but… It would mean a great deal to your sister," Gerda continued warily.

"The funeral's today? How did you organize it so quickly?"

"W…we have Kai to thank for that, I suppose," the maid replied, sounding slightly taken aback, "But it _has_ been a week, so everything has been–"

Elsa suddenly rushed to the door and yanked it open just enough for her to see Gerda's face. "A…a _week_?" she stammered.

"Well, yes, your Maj–" Gerda stopped herself after hearing about Kai's experience. She noticed the Princess' appearance, and her heart seized in pain. "Oh my… Elsa, my dear, are you alright?"

Elsa looked like she had just risen from the grave. Her once immaculate bun had been pulled free, and the tips of her platinum locks were solid white with frost. Her pale skin was about one shade darker than that of snow, and there were these strange, burn-like markings snaking up her neck. Dark shadows hung off of her dead eyes, and frozen tears still clung to her cheeks. Her clothes were torn, ruffled and frost-coated, and the gloves on her hands looked like they had been shredded in a fit of anger.

Elsa ignored her comment. "H…how could a whole _week_ have passed? I… Kai just told me about them last night."

More worry spread across Gerda's face. "Elsa…what day is it?"

"October eleventh. Why?"

"It's the eighteenth, Elsa," Gerda told her slowly, "Y…you _must_ know that it has…" She trailed off as panic spread across Elsa's face.

"Oh my God…" she whispered, "Oh my _God_!"

Gerda narrowed her eyes. "What is it, my dear?"

Elsa's eyes suddenly locked onto the maid. Her expression held nothing but fear as she stuttered, "N…nothing. I…I must have l…lost track of time."

Gerda chose not to comment on the obvious lie, and instead offered gently, "If you like, I can help you wash up for–"

"No!"

"N…no? To my help, or to the funeral?"

"Your help…the service…both…I…I don't know! I…I'm not thinking properly right now, Gerda. It…it isn't safe…for anyone."

Gerda gave her a knowing glance. "Well, it starts in about twenty minutes, dear, if you change your mind before then. If not…" Her face softened substantially, making her into the grandmotherly figure Elsa had come to see the older woman as. "…You can pull through this, Elsa. You're a remarkably strong girl. But _please_ remember: you don't have to do this alone."

Elsa felt on the verge of tears again. She gave a weak nod, half-heartedly muttered, "Thank you, Gerda," and slowly closed the door.

She retreated into her room and walked back over to her window. She no longer had a mirror in her room, so she had to make due with the reflection on the glass. She gasped slightly at the awful mess her appearance had become. Quickly, she went over to her wardrobe and donned new, very dark clothes – ones she made sure covered her battered skin. She then went into the attached bath beside her room and brushed out her tangled hair before she washed her face with some cold water and a washcloth. She carefully applied her make-up to conceal the shadows under her eyes, but it did nothing to hide the dullness that had glazed her sapphire orbs over. She returned to her room and replaced her destroyed gloves with a new, thicker pair.

She looked back in the window to check over her new reflection. Somehow, she could not recognize the face that stared back at her. She reached out and gently touched the glass, and, despite the gloves, small blooms of frost formed where her fingers rested.

She pulled her hand back and glared at it in disgust. "Why didn't you do it?" she hissed at her magic, "I thought I was going to die that night, so why didn't I? You still need a _host_, is that it? You can't be free without me, can you? So I'm stuck with a _curse_?" A dry, almost crazed laugh burst from her lips. "Well, why not? It's not like my life has gotten any _better_ lately!"

Her eyes then landed on a small portrait hanging on the wall over her desk. It was of the royal family – back when they _were_ a family. The King and Queen stood proudly, with warm smiles on their faces. Elsa was about six in the picture, and was standing obediently in front of her father, whose hand was resting on her shoulder. Anna was a little wilder: she was being held by her mother, but was reaching out to try and get her older sister's attention. Elsa smiled slightly at first, but then her eyes trained up to her parents' faces.

"You should have listened to me," she said darkly, shuddering at just how angry her own voice sounded, "I _knew_ this would happen, but you _didn't listen_! And now, you're _gone_!

"What happened to that promise, Father?" she demanded, not realizing that this was the first time she ever referred to him formally, "You'd told me you'd come back! You swore I wouldn't be alone! Well, now I am! I'm _so_ alone, Father! And I certainly _am not 'FINE'_!

"Y…you said that this would give me experience in managing a country on my own. I…I could barely get through _two weeks_ and now…now I'm… I…I'm the _Queen_. I…I can't do this!"

Pain shot through her head as her powers began to react to her emotions. "It's all your _fault_!" she cried, "You _should have listened to me_! You believed me in hindsight, didn't you? When none of it _mattered_!" Ice began to spread out from her body, and snow began to fall from the ceiling. "I…I knew I wasn't crazy, but you were treating me like I was. L…like I had gone off the deep end! I wasn't _then_, but thanks to _you_, I might just be _now_!"

She could not see it, but her eyes had sparked to life as she glared at the portrait. But they were not sparkling with love, as they always had been: now they were glowing with rage. She felt it swelling inside of her, and the storm feeding off of it as if it were a starving animal. And this time she did not fight it – she embraced it. "Y…you were the cause of every bit of misery in my life, _not_ my powers! My powers are a part of me, a part of my _soul_. And you were afraid of them, therefore you were afraid of _me_. You locked me away because you were _cowards_! You kept me away from everyone I ever loved, and told me to do so because I needed to protect them! But you were really just keeping me away from _you_ and everyone _you_ loved! Which, I guess, didn't include _me_!"

Her body trembled. Her breathing was hard. Her teeth were clenched so tightly that they hurt. "If you truly loved me, you would have listened to me. But, you didn't. _You didn't_! And I…I…I _HATE YOU_ FOR IT!"

She realized what she had done a second too late. She had thrust her hand out and released a deadly blast of ice toward the painting. Spears of ice rose from nothing on the floor and impaled the portrait and the surrounding wall with the quickness of lightning. The canvas was torn to pieces and the frame splintered. The force knocked it off the wall, where it dangled from the mess of icicles on the far side of the room.

She stared down at her hands in shock and horror, having been snapped out of her angry trance. "What have I done?" she whispered. She cringed as more pain shot through her head. "What is _happening_ to me?"

She looked back at the twisted ice. The shadows that were cast from the spikes were distorted and terrifying. There was no trace of that magical, rainbow light this time.

She quickly remembered the service and headed to the door, but as she reached for the handle, the weight of everything all but crushed her and she crumpled to the floor in despair and misery. She looked up at the ceiling and stared right through it to the heavens above. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't mean… I…I _know_ you loved me, Mama and Papa. I just can't understand _why_." She gave another forlorn glance to the spikes still imbedded in the wall, and then around her now frost-covered room. Snow was still gently falling, but there was nothing soothing in its presence. "I'm a monster," she uttered in a ghostly voice, "N…nothing but a dangerous monster… And I know what must be done to monsters."


	9. Chapter 9

"Papa? What's wrong?" Three-year-old Elsa looked up at her father with worry. He was sitting at his desk with his head held tightly in his hands.

He looked up at her and despite his bloodshot eyes gave her a warm smile. "Nothing's wrong, Snowflake…I'm just…nervous."

She bounded over to him. "Why? Is it because of Mama?" she asked innocently.

"Yes, and the Baby."

She cocked her head slightly in confusion. "But…you and Mama said that when the Baby comes, everyone will be happy," she replied, "You don't look happy."

He chuckled softly. "I am happy, Elsa…but I'm also nervous, too. Don't worry, though: I was exactly like this when you were born, too," he told her gently.

She reached her arms out toward him. He understood that request well, and picked her up to set her down in his lap. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly for a few minutes. "I didn't know you could get scared, Papa," she whispered.

"Everyone can be scared, Elsa, even someone like me."

"So, _other_ Papas can be scared, too?"

He nodded. "And other Kings," he added, "But I'm luckier than those other Papas and Kings."

"How?" she asked as she focused her sparkling eyes on his.

"I have you, Snowflake. Every time I see you, or hold you in my arms, I am reminded that there are still incredibly wonderful things in this world, and that it is foolish to be afraid."

"What about Mama? And the Baby?"

"Yes, them too," Adgar laughed, "All of you help me to be brave, Elsa."

Elsa thought for a moment, before admitting quietly, "I'm scared, too, Papa. What if the Baby doesn't like me?"

"How can anyone not like you?" he wondered softly, "I'm sure your new brother or sister will adore you, Elsa."

"But what if I'm not a good big sister? I…I don't know how…"

He gently lifted up her chin to look at her worried face. "You will know when the time comes, Elsa," he assured her, "But what I do know about being the older sibling is that you must always look after your brother or sister. They'll look to you for guidance and protection."

Elsa slowly nodded. "Ok, Papa," she said, "I promise I'll do my best."

Just then, a rather out-of-breath servant entered the study. "Your Majesty," he panted.

Adgar stood up, holding Elsa carefully in his arms. The servant merely allowed a smile to grow on his face, and before she knew it, Elsa was clinging tightly to her father's jacket as he half-ran to the bedroom where the Queen resided.

The King arrived at the doors, and set her down. "Are we going to see the Baby now, Papa?" she asked.

He smiled down at her. "Yes, Snowflake," he said happily, "Remember what I told you, alright?"

She nodded obediently as he pushed the doors open. Queen Idun was propped up against the headboard of the bed, her hair messy and her breathing hard. But she was smiling warmly down at a small bundle of cloth in her arms, her expression hiding all of her exhaustion. She managed to pull her eyes up to look at her husband and eldest, and her smile grew. "Say 'hello' to your new daughter, Adgar," she breathed.

He moved to her side and looked down at the bundle. "She's beautiful," he whispered. He then turned and planted a gentle kiss on his wife's cheek. "How are you doing?"

"Tired," she sighed, "But happy." She then noticed Elsa slowly making her way to the side of the bed, wringing her hands together as a nervous habit. "Elsa, dear, come meet your new sister."

Elsa complied. She carefully climbed onto the bed to get a better look. She was met with the sleeping face of a small baby. She could make out little locks of copper hair sticking out from the soft blankets wrapped around her. "Elsa," her mother said softly, "Meet Anna."

As if she could already make the connection, Anna slowly opened her eyes. The first person those aqua eyes landed on was her older sister. Elsa felt a smile grow on her face. "Hi, Anna," she said quietly, "I'm your big sister, Elsa."

Anna cocked her head slightly in confusion, before a large grin broke out on her face. She managed to untangle her arms from the blankets to reach out toward her sister. Elsa carefully stretched her own hand out. As soon as it was within her grasp, Anna's little hand wrapped tightly around Elsa's finger and refused to let go.

The King and Queen laughed softly as they watched the interaction. "Mama, Papa! She likes me!" Elsa whispered excitedly, "She _really _likes me!"

"I have a feeling you two will be inseparable," Adgar told her.

"You hear that, Anna?" Elsa said, "We're gonna be best friends _forever_! I promise."

Anna merely smiled brighter, and she let out a melodic laugh as she tightened her grip on her sister's hand.


	10. Chapter 10

**Warning**: This chapter contains mentions of self-harm.

* * *

Elsa did not know how long she had spent on the ground, with her back pressed against the door, remembering the good moments of her life. There seemed like there were so little of them when she compared them to the dark times. The moment that both made her smile and broke her heart still had to be the first time she ever saw her sister. How could she have possibly known then that because of her own negligence, she would eventually break the first promise she ever made to her sister?

When she could no longer take the pain anymore, she found the courage to do what she told herself was the right thing. She removed the glove off of her left hand, and shakily used it to craft a sharp blade of ice. She took the shard in her gloved hand, and held it against her exposed wrist.

"This is for the best," she whispered upward into the heavens, "I'm so sorry, Mama and Papa, but I can't control it anymore. I…I have to protect Anna."

As if on cue, she suddenly heard the sound of soft, sad footsteps in the hallway. There was no bounce in the step, and the feet were almost dragged across the carpet before they came to a stop just outside the door. But she knew _exactly _to whom they belonged.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Elsa? Please, I know you're in there…" Anna's voice was heavy and cracked by grief, and Elsa's heart seized with more guilt as she realized that she had just made her little sister attend their parents' memorial _alone_.

'_I'm always here, Anna,'_ she thought bitterly. She looked down at the shard, which was starting to draw a thin ribbon of blood. '_But don't worry: I won't be much longer_.'

"People are asking where you've been."

'_In my prison. In a nightmare. In _Hell_._'

"They say have courage, and I'm trying to…"

'_You've never had to try. You've always been the brave one, Anna.'_

"…I'm right out here for you – just let me in." Anna's voice held a different kind of desperation now: instead of the demanding, wanting cries she would always shout at her sister's door, this plea was filled with sadness and worry. Anna did not want Elsa to open this door because she missed her sister – she wanted Elsa to open the door because she knew something was wrong, and even if she could not make it better, God help her she was still going to try.

It was then that Elsa could not take it anymore. '_You deserve so much more than me, Anna_,' she thought as tears began to escape her eyes, '_I'm so sorry, but I can't. I'm too dangerous. But I'll make sure that I can never hurt you again._'

She swallowed hard and began to apply pressure to the shard of ice. More blood began to seep out, and now all it took was one hard tug to–

"We only have each other. It's just you and me. What are we gonna do?"

_"__Anna! Think of Anna, Elsa! How will we ever explain this to her?"_

_"__She has not been completely alone, because even though she can't see you, she knows that you are still there behind that door."_

Those words echoing in her mind stopped Elsa's action before it was too late. She looked down at the blood coming from her wrist, and imagined what pain it would put Anna through when she eventually discovered her older sister's lifeless body.

'_How can I be so selfish?'_ she demanded in her head, _'She just lost her parents, and now I'm going to leave her, too? I really am a terrible sister.'_

_'__But the _pain_,'_ another side of her mind forced her to recall, _'It almost _killed_ you last time. And what about your powers? You can _kill_ her, even if it is accidental.'_

_'__But this would kill her, too. Either way, I'm doomed to suffer. The only thing that changes is _her_ potential to reclaim happiness_.'

She pulled the shard away and looked at the pristine ice in her hand. '_I'll protect you, Anna, from _any_ pain,'_ she vowed, not daring to speak the words in case her sister overheard them, '_I know what it is like to see your sister's motionless body, and I know it hurts more than anything my ice can do. I will try so, _so_ hard to keep my powers contained and away from you, so I do not have to leave you. I may be a monster, but to you, I'm still a sister. And that's all that matters.'_

With that, she willed with all her heart for the blade to disappear…and it did. She then quickly replaced the glove as she sensed her sister was now sitting with her own back pressed against the other side of the door. She thought that they were going to sit somewhat together in silence, until:

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"

That did it. The combination of that childhood phrase and Anna's quiet sobs shattered what remained of Elsa's heart. She was tired, weak with despair, and her body still ached from almost being torn apart by her own powers. She was consumed with overwhelming sorrow and remorse. And upon hearing that question she almost considered ending it – again.

The only sort of relief ironically came from the cause of all her misery: her magic. The storm had completely settled inside of her. It did not force its way out of her skin, nor even make an attempt to. The only ice and snow in her room was what was left from before, and it seemed suspended in time as the snowflakes hovered in the air. The ice and snow and wind inside of her sensed her sadness, but instead of feeding off of it this time, they seemed to realize that she needed a break. So instead, the cold comforted her. She felt it wrap around her and fill her core the same way the warmth does. She felt the ice gather the broken remains of her heart and patch it back together as best it could, leaving it an icy, extremely fragile mess – but at least it was whole once again. And though she was not completely aware of it, she felt the tingling sensation of frost forming on her left wrist, covering up the thin gash and stopping the blood flow. She knew this relationship with her curse would not last long, but for the moment, she thanked her powers for being a source of comfort.

But the cold could not stop the rising grief that came from Anna's question. She looked to the heavens once more, and thought, '_Yes. I really do_.' Her breath caught in her throat, and she buried her face in her knees before she could make a sound. She let the tears fall freely, praying that, one day, she would know happiness again.

* * *

**Author Note**: *slinks into view nervously* Hey, everyone. Well, I hope you liked this one, despite it being one of the most depressing things I've ever written. I really wanted to get into Elsa's head when her parents died, seeing as it wasn't covered that greatly in the movie, and I sort of regret that thought process.

The title of this story comes from the myth of Cassandra, a character in Greek mythology who foretold the fall of Troy, but everyone around her did not believe her and deemed her crazy. I'm not saying that Elsa's parents did that _purposely_ to her, but I feel like they would have handled their daughter having visions of their demise the same way they handled her having ice powers: covering it up and trying to ignore it. Of course, it was not stated at all in the movie that Elsa _could_ see into the future, but I have this headcanon that with her being a sorceress, some of the more common types of magic could still apply to her, but she never really took any opportunity to discover them. This incident with foresight would have arose because the event being foretold was so devastating not only to her parents, but to Elsa as well. I like to think that her magic is both an adversary and an ally to Elsa - that sometimes it fights ruthlessly against her when she tries to suppress it, but it ultimately cares and protects her, and tries to help whenever she gives it a chance. And so her magic tapped into an undiscovered ability to try and warn her, and then her parents, only to be shoved under the rug.

Needless to say, I hate doing this to Elsa. She's my favourite character, and I really relate to her, so making her miserable all the time really hurts. So, I'm happy to announce that there will be one more instalment of this series that _will_ actually be not so depressing. There will be moments, but it's no where _near_ as bad as this one was. There will also be more Anna, who is very fun to write.

Thank you for your views and support. I'll have the next one up soon!


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